Jean-Michel Le Gal

Jean-Michel Le Gal is a Canadian stage, television and film actor.

Jean-Michel Le Gal
Born
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
OccupationActor
Years active2002–present

Early life

Le Gal was born in Toronto, Ontario to a francophone stage actress and television/music producer. He began acting at 10, opposite a squirrel puppet in the 12 part television kids series Pri-Maths for TVOntario. In high school, he toured many schools in the Outaouais region with the community troupe Théâtre des Lueurs. Jean-Michel then participated in a seven-month cultural exchange with Canada World Youth between British Columbia and Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Acting Biography

After three years of professional theatre training at Studio 58 in Vancouver,[1] Le Gal was invited to the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training at the Stratford Festival.[2]

His first role at Stratford was in the 2004 production of Noises Off, directed by Brian Bedford, and his performance was positively reviewed by Kamal Al-Solaylee of the Globe and Mail.[3] He then went on to play numerous roles over four seasons including: Ferdinand in the Tempest opposite William Hutt, Silvius in As You Like It and Lorenzo in Merchant of Venice. He also received Stratford's John Hirsch Award for most promising actor.[4]

In Montreal, he played Pierrot and La Violette in Dom Juan de Molière at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde with Benoît Brière and James Hyndman, directed by Lorraine Pintal. Le Gal played Horace in École des femmes by Molière at the Théâtre français de Toronto, receiving a positive review from Stage Door.[5]

In 2009, Le Gal attended the inaugural Actor's Conservatory at the Canadian Film Centre where he trained with Kiefer Sutherland, Sarah Polley and Norman Jewison.[6]

Writing and Directing

Since 2004, Jean-Michel has written and directed three short films shot in Argentina, British Columbia and the Black Forest in Germany. Also, with director John Stead [archive], he wrote and directed the pilot episode of the comic series The Bobby Buck Show.

Creator and mental health advocate

Inspired by comparative mythology and nature Jean-Michel's theatre-based creations aim to combat the harmful effects of technology and strengthen young hearts and minds.

In 2017, Jean-Michel co-founded ArtiCulture, a non-profit corporation of professional artists passionate about connecting people, young and old, to farms and wilderness through the arts. As a Member of the Board and Artist Circle he has co-created cultural events in rural settings in partnership with the MRC and Tourisme Outaouais.

In 2010, Jean-Michel co-founded the theatre school at Théâtre français de Toronto. As artistic director, he has created over 850 hours of workshops, 55 collective presentations for families, co-created and led a yearly summer camp with l’Alliance française de Toronto and a theatre club at Lycée français de Toronto, as well as directed 7 musicals for kids performed on professional stages.

Jean-Michel Le Gal has been passionately working in artistic education since 2002. During this time he has created and led over 1200 hours of contemporary and classical theatre workshops in both official languages for the Stratford Festival, University of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council and other of Canada's leading artistic institutions.

Film Credits
  • FRENCH EXIT, Principal, Dir. Azazel Jacobs, Elevation Pictures
  • THE KNIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Supporting, Dir. Monika Mitchell / Netflix
  • STATE LIKE SLEEP, Principal, Dir. Meredith Danluck / Scynthia Films
  • SHE SINGS FOR ME, Lead, Dir. Rebecca Davey, Official Selection, Not Short On Talent, Telefilm, Festival de Cannes, 2015[7]
  • BENJAMIN, Lead, Dir. Sherren Lee, Official Selection, Short Cuts, Toronto International Film Festival, 2015[8]
  • WHAT WE HAVE, Supporting Lead, Dir. Maxime Desmons, Best Canadian Feature, Toronto Inside Out Film Festival, 2015[9]
  • FOXFIRE, Principal, Dir. Laurent Cantet, Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival, 2012
  • TONY GITONE, Principal, Dir. Jerry Ciccoritti/Breakthrough Ent.
  • TAKE THIS WALTZ, Principal, Dir. Sarah Polley, Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival, 2011
  • JOHN A, Supporting, Dir. Jerry Ciccoritti/CBC
  • THE HEART, Lead, Dir. Sarah Polley/BravoFact/CTV

Television Credits
  • EAUX TURBULANTES, Lead, Dir. Lyne Charlebois / CBC
  • HUDSON & REX, Dir. John Vatcher / CityTV
  • GOOD WITCH, Dir. Steve DiMarco / Hallmark
  • CONDOR, Recurring, Dir. Various / MGM / Skydance
  • FRONTIER, Recurring, Dir. Various / Discovery / Netflix
  • MEHDI & VAL, Series Regular, Dir. Martin Cadotte / CBC
  • MURDOCH MYSTERIES, Principal, Dir. Don McCutcheon / CBC
  • REIGN, Recurring Principal, Dir. Megan Follows / CBS / CW
  • TOI & MOI, Recurring, Dir. Martin Cadotte / CBC
  • Max & Shred, Series Regular, Dir. Various / Nickelodeon / YTV
  • ROOKIE BLUE, Principal, Dir. Paul Fox / ABC / Global
  • ORPHAN BLACK, Principal, Dir. John Fawcett / BBC America / Space
  • TRANSPORTER, Principal, Dir. Brad Turner / HBO
  • LES BLEUS DE RAMVILLE, Recurring, Dir. Derek Dorio / TFO
  • FLASHPOINT, Principal, Dir. Stefan Pleszczynski / CTV / CBS
  • MAYDAY, Recurring, Dir. Ian Robertson / Cineflix
  • METEO +, Principal, Dir. Derek Dorio / TFO

Stratford Festival Credits
  • Merchant of Venice, Lorenzo, dir. Richard Rose
  • Comedy of Errors, Angelo, dir. Richard Monette[10]
  • An Ideal Husband, Mr.Montford, dir. Richard Monette
  • Don Juan, Marigold, dir. Lorraine Pintal
  • London Assurance, Martin,[11] dir. Brian Bedford
  • The Tempest, Ferdinand, dir. Richard Monette
  • The Lark, Brother Ladvenu, dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg
  • As You Like It, Silvius, dir. Antoni Cimolino
  • Henry VIII, Surveyor, dir. Richard Monette
  • Noises Off, Garry Lejeune, dir. Brian Bedford

Other Theatre Credits
  • L'école des femmes, Horace, Theatre francais de Toronto
  • Le dîner des cons, Juste Leblanc, Theatre francais de Toronto[12][13]
  • Grincements et autre bruits, Homme, Théâtre du Trillium
  • Don Juan, Pierrot, Théâtre du nouveau monde (Montréal)
  • Unity 1918, Michael/Glen, Western Canada Theatre (Kamploops,B.C.)
  • Menteur, Yannick, Théâtre la Seizième (Vancouver)
  • An Evening with Beckett, Protagonist, Tandem Productions (Vancouver)
  • Corpus Cristi, Peter, Hoarse Raven Theatre (Vancouver)

References
  1. Sadler, Sherri. "Alumni". Langara College. Retrieved March 2002. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. "Birmingham Conservatory". Stratford Festival. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved March 2004. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. Al-Solaylee, Kamal (3 July 2004). "A farce to be reckoned with". Globe and Mail.
  4. "Stratford Festival presents annual Guthrie awards | Your online newspaper for Southwestern Ontario". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  5. Hoile, Christopher. "Les Maximes du mariages". Stage Door. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  6. Sutherland, Keifer. "2009 Participants". Canadian Film Centre. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved April 2010. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-05-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  8. http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/shortcuts/benjamin Archived 2015-08-28 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. http://insideout.ca/uploads/PDFs/Inside%20Out%20Announces%20Award%20Winners_v.2.pdf
  10. Shakespeare Reviews: The Comedy of Errors. Schaltz Shakespeare Reviews
  11. "Review: London Assurance by Dion Boucicault". Word Currents
  12. Le Diner De Cons | NOW Magazine
  13. "Théâtre français de Toronto – Francis Veber’s Le dîner de cons (The Dinner Game)" Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. by Stefan Di Iorio Classical 983 FM May 5, 2009
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